While the numbers seem slightly exaggerated on Morelix's report, particularly granted that the 17% accounts partially for benefits and the research assumes that income will stay the same, it still shows how easily McDonald's could earn back the money with a more-than-reasonable price increase. Morelix also limited his findings to McDonald's, which, albeit the biggest fast food enterprise in the U.S., isn't the only company that would (or should) try to allow more spending towards workers.

But even though raising prices may cause many citizens to ditch McDonald's in favor of cheaper eateries, the fact of the matter is that this shouldn't be a specialized case. McDonald's may be the exact enterprise in question, but if minimum wages are increased across the entire spectrum of businesses in America, as Paul Krugman has suggested, more money will go back into the services that have to increase the wages. So maybe a company like McDonald's would have to pump more money into paying its workers, but those workers would then be more readily available to bear the small price increases, thus benefiting both sides.

The most important condition is that this system doesn't apply to solely one chain or business. It shouldn't seem surprising that around 35% of the Huffington Post's quick poll believed that McDonald's shouldn't boost its prices; if only McDonald's implements this method, the masses will just move to another fast food chain whose lower wages allow for lower prices.

While strikers may be asking for an increase from the national non-managerial median of $8.94 per hour to $15, an increase from $7.25 to $15, as even Krugman has admitted, would be simply too much too soon. Instead, a more gradual tactic should be in place so that eventually even lower-scale workers should be able to reach the cost of living easily, even if that cost of living may also have to increase in tiny increments.

Of course, we can't assume that all McDonald's or other fast food patrons are necessarily employed, but for those who are, an increased minimum wage would certainly allow them to accommodate for moderately-boosted prices. Unfortunately, most Republicans in Congress don't seem to be on board and may be the only opposition to an otherwise rational idea.

Alessandro van den Brink is a senior at Horace Mann in the Bronx and currently is the Editor of Opinions and Editorials for The Record, Horace Mann's weekly newspaper. He has been writing for The Record since 2012 and is also the editor-in-chief of Amplified, Horace Mann's music publication.